FAQ- The Good Ole Frequently Asked Questions

THIS IS WHERE I HAVE TO EXPLAIN HOW JATOE WORKS. IT'S A BIT DIFFERENT.

Spelling? Don't you people have a spell check or auto correct? You spelled "fabulous" wrong.

I do know how to spell, "fabulous". Lol! Fabulous is deliberately misspelled. There is a story about it. JATOE Mark I had the slogan, "For a touch of something special!"That slogan is still in use in our Bricks and Mortar store. I wanted the website to be very different to anything I had ever done. I wanted it to stand out. So...

My mother was visiting and I introduced her to my fabulous hairdresser, Denise. I adore Denise. She is one of those people who have such a gentle and loving soul. Everything in her store is "fabulous". She has it painted on the wall and on the pavement outside of her salon. Anyhoo, I had been pondering what the slogan would be for this website. My mother and I were choosing clothes from "Hearts and Roses" and my mother pointed to one and said, "That's fabalous!" I knew I had my slogan there and then. Denise is Welsh and because of her accent, when she says, "fabulous", it sounds like, "fabalous". When I told Denise what my new slogan was and how it was a homage to her, we both cried.

I don't find it weird. In our, "Getting to Know Us" page I spoke of love. I am one of those people who have a lot of love to give. I learned it from beloved grandmother. When I was a young whipper-snapper, I was the Artistic Director of a theatre company. I always taught the young people. I trained and directed the professional actors, but I was the only one who did the training of young people.

I had an amazing group of young people. They were all from different socio-economic backgrounds; they had differing academic achievements; they were from different sub-cultures and basically, if you put them in a school together, there is absolutely now way they would have been friends to each other. BUT, they all came together because they wanted to play Shakespeare.

Now that sounds a bit weird - kids wanting to act Shakespeare but the way I taught, you knew what every word meant. These kids loved it and as they worked together they became friends, then mates and then people who absolutely adored each other. We have been through in the past 18 years everything from teenage angst, to a death, to marriages, to coming out, you name it and I still keep in contact with them.

I adored these kids. I adored the dynamic and synergy of the group. I loved how they supported each other through everything. I loved seeing them fall in love with Shakespeare and I loved the productions we did. One day, I blurted out a statement, "Love you, mean it". The kids came back with their response, "You complete me".

After all of this time we all say it to each other and I have a gorgeous locket, the kids gave me after their first production with, "Love you, Mean it" that I treasure. It costs nothing to love people. It also costs nothing to be kind and respectful to people.

Do you always call people names like, "darling, sweetheart, lovelies"? Or is this a big show for you website?

LOL! I have a plethora of terms of endearment I use. Yes I always call people things like that. I think it has to do with the whole, "Theatre Industry" buzz. There was a group of kids I was teaching - you will see throughout how much I loved teaching young people - and one of my lads decided he didn't want to be a petal anymore. He wanted to be something different, so I gave him something different - my rose. He loved it and even though he's in his late 20's I still call him, "my rose". Terms of endearment make people smile, even if they think it is corny. This is how I am. I will call people, darling; my love, my dove, petal, sweetheart, sweetie-darling, sweet knees, etc etc. I also have a very long list of things that I say when I don't like someone (yes, there are people I don't like) but I always make sure it is Shakespearian because they won't get it. My all time favourite is: "Elvish mark'd abortive rooting hog". It's such a winner.

I shop online all of the time, but you kind of like "talk to me" while I'm reading the descriptions. It's a bit odd.

Yes, the descriptions are meant to be like a conversation. As I see it, this is the kind of things I would say to my customers in my bricks and mortar store. I love the vehicle of the internet and I love the medium of an online store. I can reach so many more people, BUT, you cannot lose person to person contact. You cannot lose humanity. I've been doing this for nearly 3 and a half years. I got to know my customers through my Facebook page. Our first Christmas, one Christmas Day, we received so many emails, so many posts on our Facebook page (it is the old page, we have a new one now) of people opening their presents that I had gift wrapped for them. We were sent photos of children opening their presents of toys their parents had bought from JATOE and, again, I had gift wrapped. Does that happen in an ordinary store? For the two weeks leading up to Christmas, David and I received gifts and cards from our customers. Again, does that happen in an ordinary store?

JATOE is different. That is how I like it! *smile*

Are you trying to be funny, because I don't get it?

Humour is a subjective thing. What makes one person laugh can make another person shrug their shoulders and say, "What the???" If you find me funny, great; if you don't find me funny, don't read the descriptions. LOL! The only thing I have not done in my years in the Theatre Industry is Stand Up Comedy. I'd be too scared of hecklers. Like Kitty Flannigan says, "Only two things are going to happen. I'm going to cry and pee my pants". That pretty much sums it up. *wink*

Why do you have Pop Vinyls in your store and are they licensed?

We have Pop Vinyls in our store as our Pop Vinyls were our biggest turn over products in JATOE Mark I. They are fully licensed and our distributor is Ikon. Anyone who knows about Pop Culture knows about Ikon. Although this store is very different, we still have to provide a service for the customers who have been with us since the very beginning. I will always remember how scared I was when I started JATOE Mark I and the people on our Facebook page did nothing but cheer me on. You don't forget that - ever.

We service the village of Burrum Heads - this place is magical - and the Fraser Coast District. We are very fortunate that we are in the "hub" of our little village, next to the Bakery, Jenny's Shop and the FoodWorks.

Why is there a link to Avon through a business called S.M.U.G.?

S.M.U.G. is the brain child of my dear friend, Kerrin. Kerrin and I are survivors. I am disabled and this year I fought an illness that can "bump you off" (Golden Staph Septicemia) and Kerrin is rebuilding her life after a medical issue that is usually fatal. The two of us are, "little Aussie Battlers". Neither one of us can work a regular 9-5 job so we have online stores. As Kerrin is my friend, I thought it would be great that I put a page to her Avon online store. JATOE is receiving nothing in return. Kerrin is my mate and in Australia, we help our mates out. I want only the best for her and she has supported me since JATOE began back in 2013. There is a fallacy that Avon is cruel to animals. This is not so. I have thoroughly checked it out and as Kerrin and I are such huge animal lovers, we would never deal with animal cruelty. I just want to knock that rumour on the head. I encourage to try out Avon. I buy all my facial products and it is stopping time leaving a road map all over my face. *grin*

﻿How do we contact you?

﻿﻿The best way to contact JATOE is through our "info" email. I try to answer everything in one day, but some days it does it crazy!